I posted yesterday a photo of Walt with a mysterious Mary. I received since then a message from Mark Sonntag saying, "I should have noted, I'm sure that this was taken in Swope Park, Kansas City," and one from Diane Disney Miller (Walt's daughter) who tells me, "She is, as I recall, a former co-worker from Pessman-Rubin." All of this is coherent as it all relates to Kansas City.

I would had left it at that, if Jim Korkis had not reminded me yesterday that there was a Mary that ran a candy/snack shop both at the Hyperion and Burbank studios. While checking Jack Kinney's book Walt Disney and other assorted characters (Harmony Books, 1988), I found this caricature of the Mary from Hyperion/Burbank and one has to admit that she looks very much like the Mary from Kansas City. And after all, why not? Some of the people that Walt had known in Kansas City followed him to Hollywood. Thanks to John Canemaker, we know that Mary was the receptionist to whom Ward Kimball spoke when he was seeking a job at the Studio in 1934. My (purely personnal) theory is that Mary Flanigan, having worked with Walt at Pessman-Rubins in Kansas City and having heard of his success in Hollywood, contacted him during the Great Depression and was hired as a receptionist at the Hyperion Studio.

If Mary Flaningan is indeed the Mary of yesterday's photo, here is what director Jack Kinney mentions about her in his book:

"Mary Flanigan was one of those rare individuals who never seemed to let anything bother her. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was always cheerful. That's a hard combination to beat! She was a short, roly-poly gal, and a born diplomat from Kentucky who spoke with a mixture of an Irish brogue and a deep Southern accept. If you can believe that.

Mary's real job was as a receptionist in the new Animation Building, but on the side she sold cigarettes for fifteen cents, cigars ranging from five to twenty-five cents, and peanuts or a hard-boiled egg for five cents. She also loaned money and carried people on the cuff until payday.

Mary's uncle happened to be Colonel Bradley, one of the best horse trainers in the land. From him, Mary learned the art of handicapping horses. Naturally, she used this lore to run her own booking agency as a service to some of the boys."